Spinning Wheel Building (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / West 22nd Street, 3-7
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134-foot, 10-story Neo-Classical/Renaissance-revival office building completed in 1901. Designed by James Barnes Baker as a store-and-loft building, it is three bays wide, with a 2-story rusticated limestone base, a 7-story arcaded midsection, and a 1-story attic. Over the entrances in the building's end bays, "Spinning Wheel Building" is written in the cast-iron entablature. A limestone cornice with egg-and-dart molding caps the 2nd floor.

The three bays in the 3rd through the 9th floors are each treated as a single segmental-arch with a cabled terra-cotta molding and carved escutcheon as keystone. Decorative spandrels separate the stories within the bays. The windows in the 9th floor are all arched and have a raised decorative element capping the mullions. The 10th floor has carved escutcheons between the bays, and the building is capped by a bracketed black metal roof cornice.

The eastern elevation is visible from West 22nd Street over the roof of the 3-story building at number 1 West 22nd Street. It is a red brick wall with randomly placed windows and no applied architectural detail.

This building replaced three brownstone houses, one of which was the home of Samuel Morse, who invented the telegraph. Early tenants in the building included perfumers, three lace merchants, five publishers, a linen specialist, and the Renard clothing store. The ground floor is currently occupied by The Montessori at Flatiron charter school.
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Coordinates:   40°44'28"N   73°59'25"W
This article was last modified 8 years ago